Tribunal system needs to balance rights of employers and employees alike, says EFD

30th September 2008

Plans to overhaul the employment tribunal system need to ensure that both employers and employees have access to justice, says Employers' Forum on Disability (EFD) today.

The government has recently consulted on its plan to overhaul the employment tribunal system. As part of a wider review of employment red tape, the Conservatives are considering plans to impose a fee on any litigant who loses their case. Shadow business secretary Alan Duncan has called some of the decisions of employment tribunals 'bonkers'.

EFD believes that the tribunal system needs to balance employers' and disabled employees' rights, and be credible in the eyes of both groups to be a success. Legislation like the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) is only credible if it can be enforced by the people it seeks to protect.

We know from the experience of our members that many employers want to get it right on disability, and if this has not happened, mediation and conciliation is always a welcome step.

However, employees must always have recourse to a tribunal and be able to exercise and enforce their legal rights to justice. While small businesses should not be intimidated by the tribunal process, employees need to know that they can get redress if they are unfairly treated.

While a small number of 'bonkers' disability discrimination cases get media attention, there is already enough protection against claims that have no merit, because tribunals have the power to order claimants who have brought frivolous or vexatious claims to pay the other side's legal costs. Many tribunals have given many disabled people access to justice and such cases have helped organisations get it right on disability. 

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Notes to editors

Media enquiries, please contact:

Liz Nightingale, Communications Manager
Employers' Forum on Disability
Email: liz.nightingale@efd.org.uk
Telephone: 020 7403 3020

About Employers' Forum on Disability

Employers' Forum on Disability is the employers' organisation focused on disability as it affects employers and service providers. With over 400 members, EFD represents organisations that employ around 20 per cent of the UK workforce.Since its establishment in 1991, EFD has worked closely with government and other stakeholders, sharing best practice to make it easier to employ disabled people and serve disabled customers.

www.efd.org.uk